Issue #162 | Sept. 19, 2008 | by Andy Kowl

Two weeks ago was my fourth RFID World. This edition was more widely talked about in the RFID industry than it was widely attended.

The first one I attended and exhibited at in 2005, pre-RFID Switchboard, was a grand affair in Grapevine, Texas, where it has been until now – and I can confirm where it is headed once again Oct. 12-14, 2009. It was so upbeat they had a tradition of exhibitors, who happened to also be musicians, actually perform a rock & roll show at the end of the first day.

The RFID Journal show that year, in Chicago, was a more sober affair. Fine presentation; pretty well attended, though not like the World show. Though dozens of RFID shows were springing up, these were the heavyweights. I had a unique bird's eye view, knowing both entrepreneurs involved and also knowing the business, having produced my share of conferences and trade shows.

I'd spent time in San Diego with Tim Downs, founder of RFID World, who had also owned other IT trade shows and magazines. Texas Instruments took the initiative to back this show from the start, supporting the industry they helped create. Journal publisher Mark Roberti and I graduated from the same high school, different years; and our paths had crossed in Washington and Dallas prior. His company was the undisputed RFID information leader. Both of these men are smart, strategic and serious competitors.

But as the dust settled in 2005-2006, this observer saw: Advantage, World.

It turned out to be a classic case of the tortoise and the hare. Venture capital was injected into the Journal; and CMP (since renamed), a division of publicly traded United Business Media, a UK business media company with a staff of 5,000 in 30 countries, doing more than US$1 billion of revenue, bought RFID World.

Victory is achieved
A revolving door of managers sent in by CMP were no match for Roberti and, as previously reported, the Journal Live show blew their doors off in attendance last year. CMP blinked and moved to the fall season, last week at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

It was remarkable how quickly companies jumped ship. The process began last year as almost 200 vendors stared down predominately empty aisles. After this first "slip," only half as many exhibited at last week's RFID World. Attendance was slim, though there were some serious buyers. The Journal has become the clear champion of this entrepreneurial battle.

Those walking the aisles last week had good things to say of the sessions they attended. Some exhibitors were pleased about the contacts and opportunities they found. For many of the others, reactions ranged from disappointment to outrage, predictably among the larger sponsors where the ROI was nowhere in sight. The question of, "What could they possibly do next year to save this show?" was rampant.

RFID World sales director Ron Bardach points out, "People recognize it was a tough year for us, moving the show out of the spring. It was a challenge which was reflected in attendance." He pointed also to a weak economy and added the industry still "has issues with people making money." Ron promised a major, positive announcement coming in the next two weeks.

Last year, after the more consistently poorly attended EPC Connection show, I gave a brief history of RFID conferences and wondered aloud, here, about its purpose and its viability. The upcoming 2009 event next month, also Journal-produced nowadays, at last look was listing only a handful of exhibitors on their website. There were dozens EPC exhibitors in Atlanta and Los Angeles three and two years ago.

Natural progression to verticals
This all may reflect more a maturing of the market than a failure of the shows – though some have done themselves no favors. With many international shows of varying stature, and a few others here in the U.S., how many horizontal RFID conferences – those that cover RFID's use in a wide variety of industries – are needed?

For example, we publish an annual book called in 2009, 20 Leading RFID Innovators. We distribute this publication at all of the RFID shows, but our widest circulation is at vertical conferences in such RFID-ripe markets as retail, manufacturing, security, pharmaceutical, logistics, hospitality, health and more.

Part of the answer is the way the RFID industry has moved to market itself. Since the focus has moved squarely on "solutions" vs. being "about RFID" – then doesn't it follow that a show "about RFID" would have less like-minded marketers to attract? Though truthfully, the solution focus was present more in theory than in practice.

World's Bardach hints they will be expanding the focus of next year's show, back at the Gaylord Hotel, to recognize that "RFID is no longer the end-all of Auto ID and 'track and trace.'" It sounds like more attention may be paid to sensor networks, ZigBee and other related technologies; but we will wait to get the official word.

RFID solutions rather than "range and reads"
To congratulate those with truly solution-apparent exhibits, and to encourage others to make their solutions more obvious – risking the ire of those colleagues and/or sponsors who are about to send me notes about how I missed their terrific, solution-oriented displays – I will quickly point out three for honorable mention.

In a large, prominent exhibit, Siemens had an impressive miniature of the manufacturing plants they automate. A series of automation demonstrations represented the activities of typical manufacturers, with all opportunities for RFID use well highlighted and described.

The graphically dynamic backdrop Intelleflex presented was bold, clear and specific about the types of solutions they offer. They grouped together the RFID benefits in such little-promoted concepts as tracking cement and asphalt road building and crop harvesting.

The third is a new company called Bartronics, which grew out of a NASCAR-funded access control and contactless payment development. This exhibit had an elegantly simple and compelling demo of how their RFID wristbands offer hospitality companies a slew of benefits including increased sales, age tracking for sales of alcohol and customer service.